STOCKTON — Kay Ruhstaller says one of her prime concerns when she ponders the potential harm to Stockton and San Joaquin County if proposed federal budget cuts take effect is the “multiplying effect” on those most badly in need of services from the government.

Ruhstaller, the executive director of the Stockton-based Family Resource & Referral Center, made the remark during a Monday morning news conference where she was joined by Mayor Michael Tubbs, two members of the City Council, and the CEO of Community Medical Centers, Christine Noguera.

“The funding for all of these programs is very precariously balanced for nonprofits, not just ours but for all,” Ruhstaller said. “This county and the city are very foundation poor. We don’t have the corporate base that other communities do, like San Francisco or the Bay Area or even Sacramento.”

Family Resource & Referral Center offers child care, nutrition and health services, as well as care for people with disabilities. Ruhstaller estimated the nonprofit receives up to $15 million a year in federal funding.

Noguera said Community Medical Centers served 80,000 residents of San Joaquin County in 2016, aided in part by $8 million in funding from the federal government. Additionally, Noguera said 16,000 of last year’s clients are covered under the Affordable Care Act, which is targeted for repeal by the Republican majority in Washington.

“All of those patients are at risk of losing their health coverage with the proposed changes,” Noguera said.

President Donald Trump unveiled his proposed budget last week. The budget proposes cutting funding to the Department of Health and Human Services by more than $15 billion — 18 percent of the agency’s funding.

Noguera suggested other aspects of the Trump budget also could affect public health. A proposed reduction in funding to the Environmental Protection Agency could impact water, air and food safety, Noguera said.

Vice Mayor Elbert Holman and City Councilman Dan Wright joined Tubbs at Monday’s news conference. Wright, who is principal at Harrison Elementary School in Stockton, said he’s worried about the possibility of increased absenteeism if students served under the Affordable Care Act lose medical services.

Other proposed cuts, Wright said, could add to an already-existing shortage of teachers; increase the sizes of classes, and result in the use of more “permanent substitute teachers.”

Wright added, “You want to believe that we’re going to have a full-time teacher in every classroom, but unfortunately with the teacher shortages we face, what we do find now is that many of our classes now have permanent substitute teachers for all or part of the year.”

Tubbs urged citizens to voice their concerns to legislators — not only to those who serve them directly but to elected officials in other states that were friendlier than California in November to the new president’s agenda.

“They have phone numbers, too,” Tubbs said. “It’s not just a Stockton issue. It’s a national issue.”

Tubbs said increased local philanthropy and volunteerism may be needed if funding reductions are enacted.

“These cuts aren’t going to hurt fat-cat bureaucrats,” he said. “They’re going to hurt people like you and me: regular, everyday people who are taking their kids to school, after-school programs, and need access to health care, who need child care. That’s who these cuts will impact.

“This budget is unconscionable. We can’t stand for these cuts to us, especially to the least among us.”

— Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/phillipsblog and on Twitter @rphillipsblog.